What’s Up Wednesday

What’s Up Wednesday is a blog hop created by sisters Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk, to help writers connect. Follow either of those links to get more information, and join in!

WHAT I’M READING

I recently finished reading NORTHANGER ABBEY, not the original, but the modern retelling by Val McDermid. If you’re a fan of the original Austen story, you’ll enjoy this book. The structure is the same, chapter by chapter, and all the characters are just as they ought to be. And now I’m reading AN UNGODLY CHILD, by Rachel Green; it’s reminding me a lot of GOOD OMENS, which I loved.

WHAT I’M WRITING (+ WRITING GOAL)

Further to this post from yesterday, I’m diving deeper into short fiction. (Will I ever write those novels? Maybe. But for now…) Four stories, each with a different main element. Goal for the week: do a thumbnail sketch for each of the four stories, to clarify the vision.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME

Setting goals! Or so I hope, anyway. I need to be more goal-focused so I stop frittering away my days. There are things I need to do (I have two editing projects on the go, plus the writing, plus the need to look for a job and holy cow write those cursèd cover letters, plus all the ordinary daily living stuff – shop, cook, eat, sleep, work out, clean, etc.) and most of them don’t get done if I hang out on the internets all day. New goal: apply for one job a day, Monday to Friday. (This assumes there is actually a job i want to apply for on a given day. There isn’t always.)

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

I have been growing my hair out for a couple of years, from über-short to chin-length bob. My hair has been the desired length for a few months now. And I was happy with it. Until, abruptly, I was not. Last week I got a hate on for my ‘long’ hair, and this week I had it cut and now I am full of the joys of short hair. So much faster to wet, wash, rinse, dry, and style! So much more styling versatility than hair that’s long enough to go in your eyes and mouth (ew!) but too short to go into a ponytail! No more knots in drains, hairbrushes, or vacuum cleaners!

The only thing that would make me happier with my hair is to have it boldly coloured again. But I can’t afford that until I get a steady income again. So, back to the job hunt!

I’m currently reading a retell of Emma by Alexander McCall Smith. I’m only one chapter in so too soon to tell, but I recently read a Sense and Sensibility retelling and I found it stuck so close to the original that I was a little disappointed. I think this Emma might be the same. I’m definitely going to check out Northanger Abbey though. I’ve written my own Persuasion retelling so I love to read other peoples retells!
Have a great week!

I loved the way the author updated Northanger Abbey. I could have done without the textspeak, and some of the dialogue (the phrase “totes amazeballs” didn’t have to be there for me to get how young Cat and Bella are), so I have high hopes for the rest of the series. Emma is last on my list, not least because it’s among my least favourite of Austen’s works. Persuasion, though, is high up the list; can one get one’s hand on your retelling?

I really need to check out that NORTHANGER ABBEY retelling sometime. I’m currently reading the original, so I bet I would like that one too. I’m with you on the goal-setting thing. I need goals to keep me from frittering away all my time. I’ve been doing that for far too long now. Hope you have a great week, Wendy! 😀

This version of Northanger Abbey is what I was trying so desperately to tell you about yesterday. I still don’t know why Blogger was telling me that my OpenID wasn’t working, when I was trying to comment with this account. Clearly it was very confused. And it wasn’t just your blog, it was all of Blogger. Poor confused thing.

Ah yes, the never-ending hair dilemma. I had mine short for a number of years, but while it was easy to do, it grew too fast and constantly needed a trim. I’ve come to the conclusion that, long or short, it’ll always be a pain for me lol. Glad you’re enjoying your new style though!

When my hair is short, I get it cut every 4-5 weeks, because a short hairstyle can go from fine to argh overnight. You either spend the time in the stylist’s chair (short hair), or you spend the time styling long hair, I find.